Self-assembly of sustainable plant protein protofilaments into a hydrogel for ultra-low friction across length scales

Autor: Olivia Pabois, Yihui Dong, Nir Kampf, Christian D. Lorenz, James Doutch, Alejandro Avila-Sierra, Marco Ramaioli, Mingduo Mu, Yasmin Message, Evangelos Liamas, Arwen I. I. Tyler, Jacob Klein, Anwesha Sarkar
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Communications Materials, Vol 5, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2662-4443
DOI: 10.1038/s43246-024-00590-5
Popis: Abstract Designing plant protein-based aqueous lubricants can be of great potential to achieve sustainability objectives by capitalising on inherent functional groups without using synthetic chemicals; however, such a concept remains in its infancy. Here, we engineer a class of self-assembled sustainable materials by using plant-based protofilaments and their assembly within a biopolymeric hydrogel giving rise to a distinct patchy architecture. By leveraging physical interactions, this material offers superlubricity with friction coefficients of 0.004-to-0.00007 achieved under moderate-to-high (102-to-103 kPa) contact pressures. Multiscale experimental measurements combined with molecular dynamics simulations reveal an intriguing synergistic mechanism behind such ultra-low friction - where the uncoated areas of the protofilaments glue to the surface by hydrophobic interactions, whilst the hydrogel offers the hydration lubrication. The current approach establishes a robust platform towards unlocking an untapped potential of using plant protein-based building blocks across diverse applications where achieving superlubricity and environmental sustainability are key performance indicators.
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